London to be just 8 hours away from Madrid in 2012

Train journey from Madrid to London would take just eight hours in 2012. As reported by The Times, Spain and France have agreed to launch a rail company which will go on to build the train which will link Madrid and Paris. It would take five hours to reach Paris from Madrid via the new rail link, and a further three hour journey on the Eurostar to reach London in a combined time of eight hours.

The Times has reported that Spain’s Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and François Fillon, the Prime Minister of France, have given their approval to the proposal. The new rail company will be jointly run by the Spanish RENFE and France’s SNCF with a 50/50 stake. The headquarters of the new company will be in Spain. RENFE has said that 300 million dollars are likely to be invested for purchasing new trains for the new link.